The NBB4C Trust Bundle contains trust anchors of consumer-facing applications (CFAs) that utilize Direct secure messaging to securely move data from one application to another. The common set of eligibility criteria that make up the trust framework of the NBB4C helps relying parties to identify CFAs that meet or exceed these obligations, while allowing patients to make choices from a growing pool of CFAs that best fit their personal needs. The net result is that providers can confidently share health information with their patient via a CFA of their choice.

"The participants onboarded to the NATE Blue Button for Consumers (NBB4C) Trust Bundle include consumer controlled applications that have been in use for years across the country and others who are bringing new offerings to the market with distinct differentiators. Our ambition for the NBB4C is to provide a mechanism that facilitates providers being able to more easily share health information with their patient population, capitalizing on their existing investment in EMRs that use Direct today," says Aaron Seib, NATE CEO. "It is our hope that the NBB4C will pave the way for a diverse community of consumer facing applications that patients can choose from to access and manage their health information directly. This kind of patient engagement will have a positive impact on care individually and on our health care system as a whole."

NATE expects participation in the NBB4C Trust Bundle to grow rapidly. To accommodate this growth, they are announcing the release of a new tool to facilitate onboarding and to publish bundles for relying parties that wish to adopt them as part of their patient engagement activities. The NATE Bundle Administrator (NBA) serves as a secure portal for downloading trust anchors for use in a relying party's trust store as well as for uploading documentation related to onboarding to the NBB4C. Interested CFAs may now submit their NBB4C Onboarding Applications using the NBA. Applications are available for download at http://nate-trust.org/trustbundles.